Across the Cosmos Desire Gets What Nature Dooms

Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem

The egg desires to be a larva.  It

Desires to be a pupa.  That desires

To grow transparent wings to fly, then flit

From flower to flower.  The law of life requires

All this.  The instinct of the thoughtless bee,

The worker bee, inspires her whole life through

To be subservient to others, see

What nature and the universe beshrew

Upon her.  Sweetness she brings back to comb.

Her honey stomach sacrifices sweet

To honey’s starting.  Then inside her home,

There, transformation makes the change complete.

  And the worker dies.  Desire throughout

     Has seemed for that.  Desire brings final clout.